cDc: Don't Talk to Cops

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 ...presents...              Don't Talk to Cops
                                                        by Robert W. Zeuner
           __//////\\   -cDc- CULT OF THE DEAD COW -cDc-   /\\\\\\\\\\\\__
 Est. 1984   \\\\\\\\\\\\/  cDc paramedia: text #332-08/01/1997 \\//////   Est. 1984
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   |__heal_the_sick__raise_the_dead__cleanse_the_lepers__cast_out_demons__|
     "GOOD MORNING!  My name is Investigator Holmes.  Do you mind answering a
few simple questions?"  If you open your door one day and are greeted with
those words, stop and think!  Whether it is the local police or the FBI at
your door, you have certain legal rights of which you ought to be aware
before you proceed any further.
     In the first place, when the law enforcement authorities come to see
you, there are no "simple questions."  Unless they are investigating a
traffic accident, you can be sure that they want information about somebody.
And that somebody may be you!
     Rule Number One to remember when confronted by the authorities is that
there is no law which requires you to talk with the police, the FBI, or the
representative of any other investigative agency.  Even the simplest
questions may be loaded and the seemingly harmless bits of information which
you volunteer may later become vital links in a chain of circumstantial
evidence against you or a friend.
     Do not invite the investigator into your home!  Such an invitation not
only gives him the opportunity to look around for clues to your lifestyle,
friends, reading material, etc., but also tends to prolong the conversation.
And the longer the conversation, the more chance there is for a skilled
investigator to find out what he wants to know.
     Many times a police officer will ask you to accompany him to the police
station to answer a few questions.  In that case, simply thank him for the
invitation and indicate that you are not disposed to accept it at that time.
Often the authorities simply want to photograph a person for identification
purposes, a procedure which is easily accomplished by placing him in a
private room with a two-way mirror at the station, asking him a few innocent
questions, and then releasing him.
     If the investigator becomes angry at your failure to cooperate and
threatens you with arrest, stand firm.  He cannot legally place you under
arrest or enter your home without a warrant signed by a judge.  If he
indicates that he has such a warrant, ask to see it.  A person under arrest
or located on premises to be searched, generally must be shown a warrant if
he requests it and must be given a chance to read it.
     Without a warrant, an officer depends solely upon your helpfulness to
obtain the information he wants.  So, unless you are quite sure of yourself,
don't be helpful.
     Probably the wisest approach to take to a persistent investigator is
simply to say: "I'm quite busy now.  If you have any questions that you feel
I can answer, I'd be happy to listen to them in my lawyer's office.
Goodbye!"
     Talk is cheap.  But when that talk involves the law enforcement
authorities, it may cost you, or someone close to you, dearly.
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